Airbus Says New Narrow-Body Planes Could ‘Complement’ Chinese Craft on Regional Routes

European aircraft-maker Airbus said its new narrow-body planes could complement China’s domestic competitor on less-busy regional routes, as investors try to gauge just how much of a threat the country’s push to use more of its own aircraft might be to foreign plane-makers.

Airbus China Marketing Director Hu Qin told a press conference on Friday that the company was “maintaining active engagement” with potential Chinese customers in the hopes of selling them planes from the A220 series, but did not give specifics.

His comments signal the company’s intention to grow its market share in China’s regional aviation market even as the country ramps up efforts to promote the use of its homegrown ARJ21.

The ARJ21, produced by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC), seats 78 to 90 passengers and is considered a viable alternative for foreign-built craft on short- and medium-haul flights.

As of the end of 2020, COMAC had delivered 46 ARJ21 aircraft to customers including state-owned peers Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, according to the company’s website.

Airbus’s A220 is derived from the C Series single-aisle aircraft launched by Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier in 2016.

The A220 is now available in two variants, able to seat 120 and 150 passengers. That makes them smaller than single-aisle aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737, which are normally deployed on trunk routes with the ability to offer more than 150 seats.

The A220 series is suitable for connecting inland Chinese cities, where passenger traffic is relatively light compared to routes between major coastal cities, Hu said.

So far, Airbus has received orders for 648 A220 aircraft globally, 164 of which have been delivered, according to Hu.

Airbus has localized some of the A220’s manufacturing in China, where a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp. of China is responsible for producing the core airframe.

The comments come as U.S.-based rival Boeing Co. tries to win regulatory approval for its 737 Max to return to Chinese skies.

On Saturday, Shanghai-based outlet The Paper reported that a 737 Max 7 had arrived in Shanghai for a flight test required by Chinese regulators.

Chinese aviation officials last month signaled they are open to conducting flight tests on the Max, in a step toward lifting its grounding in Boeing’s largest overseas market, more than two years after a fatal crash in Ethiopia in 2019.

Bloomberg contributed reporting.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.

Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.